Compute your way to better health

Darius Chang | Nov 14, 2007

The next Tour de France winner may very well be the tech nerd from your IT department, if MIT's new invention makes it to the mainstream. Taking a page out of the GZ PC-Sport and Power Stepper book, MIT students modified an exercise bike so it can power your laptop.

This also begs the question: Does one have to pedal like a madman just to check your email? Not really, as these researchers discovered that only 30 watts are required to charge a notebook battery and the average person can generate up to 75 watts continuously. How the device works is the bicycle wheel is attached to a generator which charges a conventional car battery. A 12-volt cigarette-lighter adapter is then used to hook up with your laptop. This prevents overcharge and fluctuating current damaging your PC.

So if your neighbor starts turning up for work in cycling shorts and tank top, peek under the desk to check if he's trying to charge his notebook quickly.

Filed under: Notebooks
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